Ate 79071 222989714 2008-07-02T01:52:06Z Dante Brand 7407357 {{otheruses}} {{refimprove|date=June 2008}} {{Greek myth (personified)}} ''''''Ate''''', (in Greek ατή) a Greek word for "ruin, folly, delusion", is the action performed by the hero, usually because of his or her [[hubris]] that leads to his or her death or downfall. There is also a [[goddess]] by that name ('''Até''') in [[Greek mythology]], a personification of the same. In [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]'' (Book 19) she is called eldest daughter of [[Zeus]] with no mother mentioned. On Hera's instigation she used her influence over Zeus so that he swore an oath that on that day a mortal descended from him would be born who would be a great ruler. Hera immediately arranged to delay the birth of [[Heracles]] and to bring forth [[Eurystheus]] prematurely. In anger Zeus threw Até down to earth forever, forbidding that she ever return to heaven or to [[Mount Olympus (Mountain)|Mt. Olympus]]. Até then wandered about, treading on the heads of men rather than on the earth, wreaking havoc on mortals. The [[Litae]] ("Prayers") follow after her but Até is fast and far outruns them. [[Apollodorus]] (3.143) claims that when thrown down by Zeus, Até landed on a peak in [[Phrygia]] called by her name. There [[Ilus]] later, following a cow, founded the city of Ilion, that is [[Troy]]. This flourish is chronologically at odds with Homer's dating of Até's fall. In [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'' (l. 230) the mother of Até is [[Eris (mythology)|Eris]] ("Strife"), with no father mentioned. In [[Nonnos]]' ''Dionysiaca'' (11.113), at Hera's instigation Até persuades the boy Ampelus whom [[Dionysus]] passionately loves to impress Dionysus by riding on a bull from which Ampelus subsequently falls and breaks his neck. In the play ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'', Shakespeare introduces the goddess Até as an invocation of vengeance and menace. Mark Antony, lamenting Caesar's murder, envisions{{quote|"And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge,<br /> With Ate' by his side come hot from Hell,<br /> Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice<br /> Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war, ...}} ==See also== *E.R. Dodds, ''The Greeks and the Irrational'', University of California Press. *[[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'' *[[Roberto Calasso]] - ''The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony'' [[Category:Greek mythology]] [[Category:Greek goddesses]] [[Category:Ancient Greece]] [[Category:Offspring of Zeus]] [[br:Ate]] [[cs:Áté]] [[de:Ate (Mythologie)]] [[es:Ate (mitología)]] [[fr:Até]] [[ko:아테]] [[is:Ate]] [[it:Ate]] [[lt:Atė]] [[hu:Até]] [[pl:Ate]] [[pt:Até]] [[ro:Ate]] [[ru:Ата]] [[sl:Ate]] [[fi:Ate]] [[sv:Ate]] [[to:Ate]]